Poor diet is a leading cause of death in the U.S. and has been linked to over 500,000 deaths per year. The rates of diet-related disease among adults in the U.S. are abysmal: over 70% have overweight or obesity; about 50% have diabetes or prediabetes; and over 90% have suboptimal cardiometabolic health, characterized by excess weight; high blood glucose, blood pressure, or lipids (or taking medications for any of these conditions); or a history of cardiovascular disease. Moreover, the direct medical costs and loss of productivity associated with excess weight and diet-related disease is estimated to be almost $1 trillion annually. And that’s before the advent of the new, hugely expensive diet drugs.
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In people with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes and excess weight, a personalized lower-calorie diet (based on continuous blood sugar monitoring, gut microbiome data, and more) led to no lower long-term blood sugar levels (hemoglobin A1c) and no fewer blood sugar spikes over six months than a one-size-fits-all lower-fat, lower-calorie diet.
Fifteen percent of U.S. adults have diabetes. Another 38 percent have prediabetes (and 8 out of 10 of them don’t know it). Together, that comes to one in two adults with harmful blood sugar levels. The good news: Many cases can be prevented and, in some people, even reversed. Here's what to know about prediabetes and type 2 diabetes.
Insulin acts as a key that allows blood sugar (glucose) to enter the body’s cells, where it can be burned for fuel or stored. But in some people, the key can’t open the lock.
What’s the best diet if you have prediabetes or type 2 diabetes? Researchers assigned 33 people with prediabetes or type 2 diabetes to eat a “Well-Formulated Keto Diet” or a “Mediterranean-Plus Diet” for 12 weeks each, in random order.
Anyone aged 35 to 70 with overweight or obesity should get screened for type 2 diabetes or prediabetes every three years, says the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.
Doctors should consider screening American Indians/Alaska Natives, Blacks, Hispanics/Latinos, and Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders at even younger ages, because those groups have a higher risk, said the task force. Ditto for Asian-Americans in the upper half of the “normal” weight range, anyone who had gestational diabetes, or anyone with polycystic ovarian syndrome or a family history of diabetes.
